Many devices and methods for treating obesity have been made and used, including but not limited to adjustable gastric bands. An example of such an adjustable gastric band is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,067,991, entitled “Mechanical Food Intake Restriction Device,” which issued on May 30, 2000, and which is incorporated herein by reference. Gastric bands may be provided as fluid-based devices or as mechanical devices, among other types, including combinations thereof. Exemplary fluid-based gastric band devices are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,592,339, entitled “Gastric Banding Device,” which issued on Jun. 3, 1986, and which is incorporated herein by reference. Exemplary mechanical gastric band devices are disclosed in U.S. Pub. No. 2005/0143766, entitled “Telemetrically Controlled Band for Regulating Functioning of a Body Organ or Duct, and Methods of Making, Implantation and Use,” which published on Jun. 30, 2005, and which is incorporated herein by reference. Exemplary mechanical gastric band devices are also disclosed in U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/530,497, filed Dec. 17, 2003, which is incorporated herein by reference.
Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that it may be advantageous in certain circumstances to sense pressure, strain, or other parameters associated with operation of a gastric band device. For instance, various devices and techniques for pressure data acquisition and processing for fluid-based gastric band systems are disclosed in U.S. Non-Provisional application Ser. No. 11/065,410, filed Feb. 24, 2005, entitled “Device for Non-Invasive Measurement of Fluid Pressure in an Adjustable Restriction Device,” and published as U.S. Pub. No. 2006/0189888; U.S. Non-Provisional application Ser. No. 11/369,531, filed Mar. 7, 2006, entitled “Non-Invasive Pressure Measurement in a Fluid Adjustable Restrictive Device,” and published as U.S. Pub. No. 2006/0211913; and U.S. Non-Provisional application Ser. No. 11/398,940, filed Apr. 6, 2006, entitled “Monitoring of a Food Intake Restriction Device,” and published as U.S. Pub. No. 2006/0199997. The disclosure of each of those applications and publications is incorporated by reference herein. Such parameter data may be obtained before, during, and/or after adjustment of a gastric band, and may be useful for adjustment, diagnostic, monitoring, or other purposes, and may be obtained with respect to a mechanical gastric band. The foregoing examples are merely illustrative and not exhaustive. While a variety of techniques and devices have been used treat obesity, it is believed that no one prior to the inventors has previously made or used an invention as described in the appended claims.
Reference will now be made in detail to the present preferred embodiment of the invention, an example of which is illustrated in the accompanying drawings.